Why 3-Dimensional Data Has Never Been More Relevant–or Valuable–to TV & Digital Ad Strategies
Three-dimensional data (that all-important mix of Set-Top Box, IP, and 1st or 3rd-party data) has quickly established itself as a media-planning must-have, and for good reason.
The proliferation of new touch points has put tremendous power behind campaigns, large and small, and is evidenced by the precision with which today’s audiences can be targeted. And as consumers connect themselves to more devices and platforms than ever before—and connected TV continues to blur the lines between digital and television—the number of data points at our disposal seems to grow by the day.
This, in turn, has created two fundamental game-changers for advertisers and media planners
- The data itself has become progressively more accessible, targetable, addressable and measurable, shaping both TV and digital advertising strategies in exciting new ways.
- Data providers are much more unified, working together to help us paint a customer’s three-dimensional picture in a much more streamlined way.
This presents a seismic shift in how we identify and market customers. Indeed, this truly is a new media world, one where we get to (finally) see our new and existing customers in a whole new light. And the possibilities are endless.
Trends in Data Collection
Historically, here at the NY Interconnect (NYI), our access to data involved two primary sources: set-top boxes (which measure tuning behavior, allowing us to know who is watching what and when) and third-party providers (which help us dive even deeper, pulling data from multiple platforms to create a comprehensive audience profile). This methodology, while invaluable, still had room to grow.
With breakthrough new data points at our disposal (online behavioral data, location data, and transactional data, to name a few), 3rd-parties can validate their data more efficiently and get a multi-dimensional view of customers that ultimately help us build a more accurate consumer profile and find their target audience—in ways we never could before.
Being able to unleash the power of IP data has been particularly useful; by continuously and anonymously mapping IP addresses, we’re able to deliver targeted branded content to any digital device.
Best of all, with the greater collaboration among data providers, and better access to niche data aggregators, creating and refining these detailed customer profiles has never been easier.
Of course, when discussing customer data, security is always a top concern. With the rise of security breaches, data providers are now taking additional measures to protect this abundance of consumer data. For this reason, we only work with established, trusted partners, whose privacy standards are at the highest and strictest levels, ensuring that all data exchanges are completely anonymized and matched behind strict firewalls.
3-Dimensional Data in Action
Once we’ve combined all the various forms of data, we’re able to produce a three-dimensional view of a target audience, where we can identify their habits and gain insights into their likes and dislikes. And since consumer behavior is always changing, set-top box and IP data is updated on a second-by-second basis and processed in real time. This reliable data allows us to predict customer behavior throughout the day with greater accuracy, thus powering more effective TV and digital advertising campaigns.
This plethora of new, rich data doesn’t just aid us in the planning and execution phases, but on the back-end as well. At the end of a campaign, we can collect one-to-one exposure data and match it to sales and foot traffic in a client’s store, for example. We can even use it to get a read on consumers’ perceptions of a brand before and after the campaign was executed.
We’ve already had great success with taking cross-screen, three-dimensional approaches to our campaigns. In one instance, involving an auto client, we were able to leverage data from multiple sources (including third-party auto ownership and lifestyle information, which were then matched to our set-top box data) to create a highly targeted message that encompassed both TV and digital. Together, these channels generated a 131% incremental sales lift for the client, along with net incremental revenue of over $25 million.
The Future of 3-Dimensional Data
The sheer amount of customer data points (and sources) available to us today can be daunting. Fortunately, the data silos that exist have started to converge; by continuing to foster a greater sense of collaboration among the different data partners, we’ll be able to reach consumers at the right place and at the right time, with the right message, no matter where they are in the lifecycle.
And as screens and platforms propagate, we can continue to create singular, multi-dimensional addressable campaigns with quantifiable results. This tactic, when used in tandem with our industry-recognized and highly successful Audience One platform, allows our clients to buy and target all devices and customers in one place—a true one-stop shop media-buying experience.
Yes, a new year has arrived, and three-dimensional data is leading the way.
For more on how this new approach to customer data will affect TV and digital advertising in 2019, fill out our online contact form.